PAPERMILLS AFIRE

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1101, 13 April 1911, Page 5

PAPERMILLS AFIRE

TOTAL -DESTRUCTION. LOSS4BOUT £24M0. ', ORiGIN A COMPLETE MYSTERY. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Duncdin, April 12. A fire broke out in tho Xew Zealand Taper Mill Company's Woodhaugh paper mills this evening shortly- after .seven o'clock, resulting in tho total destruction of (he building, plant, and stock. Tho four o'clock to twelve o'clock shift was working at the time, and tho first intimation of the conflagration was a burst of flame from the papat-savKng department, situated at tho iiort.li end of tho building, and on the wiiidword side.

Tho first rush of tho fire was so furious that the rum hod to rush (jura the building, but the engineer was able to remain long enough to. blow, the steam whistle, and give tho alarm to t',ie district.

In an incredibly short space of tiino tho interior of the building was enveloped in flames, ami although, six leads of water were brought to boar on the fire the position was hopeless, and tho efforts of tho brigade to subdue it futile. The whole building practically burned itself out, and by ten o'clock lio'Jhing was left but tho ragged brick walls and the smouldering interior.

How tho fire originated is a. complete mystery. The building covers about half an acre, and the plant contained in it was efficient and icodern.

Tho building is valued at .£6OOO, and the. plant at from .£12,000 to .813,000. There was manufactured stock on, tho premiss to tho value, of £3000; raw material to the value of JC2OOO (this including a largo quantity of pulp), while tho stock of dyes and chemicals is valued at about .£llOO.

The insurance on the buildiug, plant, and stock is ',£12,500, which is distributed over the Standard, National, Commercial Union, Eoyal, Alliance, Sonth British, arid London and Lancashire offices. The destruction of the mills will throw over 50 hands out of employment. The Woodhaugh mills have been running for the past .15 years. They were originally owned by a company, and then by Mr. John Mitchell for 22 years, and by the New Zealand Paper Mills Company for tho past eix and a half years.

ANOTHER. BLAZE.

DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT ABOUT £3500.

Another fire involving considerable damage occurred in the city shortly after six o'clock this evening, in premises occupied by Messrs. Joyce Bros., carrying 011 business as the- Textile, Bag, and Sack Company, with headquarters at Christchurch. The men wore working on the premises at the time, and it is assumed that the firo was caused by some fluff coming in contact with a lighted caudle. The fire spread with amazing rapidity, and considerable damage was dona to the building, stock; - and-machinery before it was got unucr. ■ The-building is owned-by. Joyce Bros. It is impossible to estimate the damage at present, but tho .'whole will probably exceed .£3500. The property is covered by a policy in the Queensland office, but the amount is not ascertamable.